


The Rule

by semele



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Friends With Benefits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:40:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28394778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/semele/pseuds/semele
Summary: Bellamy, Raven, Gina, Luna, Miller and Monty are flatmates, and there are three very important rules in their flat. Don’t leave dishes in the sink, don’t set anything on fire, don’t fuck any of the flatmates.So. About that last one.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Raven Reyes
Comments: 10
Kudos: 20
Collections: Ravenbell New Year Fanfiction Exchange (2020)





	The Rule

**Author's Note:**

  * For [growlery writes (growlery)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/growlery/gifts).



> Inspired by [Growlery's Dear Creator letter](https://growlery.dreamwidth.org/11097.html), which is full of goodness and I'm not sure I did it justice. I have a feeling I might want to revise/extend this fic at some point, but for now, this is what I managed. Fair warning, there is a lot of idiocy and a lot of feelings. Also, random sex toys flying around. Happy New Year!

It all started because of that goddamned vibrator.

Okay, not fair. It started because everyone was out at a party last night, but Bellamy didn’t feel like going, and then Raven came home from work doubling over from pre-period cramps, and one thing led to another. Cue: stray lube on Bellamy’s sheets, Raven’s vibrator on his nightstand, and, God, he hopes she didn’t leave any panties behind, because that would be bad.

It’s not exactly the first time something like this happened, which is why it’s not fair to blame the vibrator for all his problems, since he’s been fucking his flatmate for something like two months now, but the point is, it happened again last night, there is a vibrator on his nightstand, and Miller just waltzed into his room to ask if Bellamy has seen his headphones, which is probably a valid question, but he is going to look at the nightstand any second now, and Bellamy is panicking.

“Have you checked the hallway?” he asks stupidly, wondering how he might convincingly insert his body between Miller and the nightstand. It would have to be smooth, because Miller can smell fear like it’s blood in the water.

“Obviously. I thought I might have left them here when you were helping me rehearse. Can I look around?”

“Sure, but I cleaned yesterday and didn’t find anything so…”

A plausible lie. Bellamy’s room is fairly tidy, because it usually is, and also because he was very diligent to air everything out, clean up and take out the trash, because there were used condoms in it. In fact, he was so focused on the condoms that he apparently managed to miss a whole ass vibrator.

“Right.” Miller gives him a suspicious look. “Let me know if you see them. Hey, are you okay, Bell?”

“Me? Sure. Peachy. Good luck with your headphones.”

“Mm. Thanks.”

***

All this would be a lot easier, if it wasn’t for The Rule.

The Rule, as Monty explained when Bellamy first moved in, was established after that time Clarke got together with Finn, and it was awkward enough, but then Clarke broke up with Finn, and shit got _really_ awkward. It’s true that the Surprise Adultery Drama had a silver lining, in that it resulted in other flatmates being introduced to Raven, the girlfriend whom Finn neglected to mention, who subsequently dumped him for cheating, then snatched up his room as soon as he moved out, which would have been the ultimate power move, if it wasn’t for the fact that she mostly did it for the cheap rent. Clarke lasted a few months longer, and actually managed to build a tacit understanding, if not an outright friendship with Raven, but after she moved out, all remaining flatmates decided: no more in-house fucking. That was The Rule. No sex was worth the drama, and absolutely no one wanted to relive the awkwardness of a breakup. Bellamy, of course, wasn’t part of the conversation, as he moved in a full year after it took place, but it was presented to him as an ironclad Rule. Don’t leave dishes in the sink, don’t set anything on fire, don’t fuck any of the flatmates. Other than that, no questions asked.

In hindsight, he really should have been less intrigued by where the No Fire Rule came from, and instead spent more time checking out the people he was moving in with, just to make sure there was no risk of him wanting to fuck any of them.

He lasted six weeks before kissing Raven for the first time, because he is a responsible adult who thinks things through, but in his defense, she is very smart, very beautiful, devilishly funny, and has the best ass he’s ever seen.

And here he is now, suffering consequences. Namely: pulling out his phone at nine in the morning on a Sunday, and double-checking he really is writing just to Raven and not in a groupchat, before pressing “Send”:

`You forgot your vibrator. Miller almost found it.`

He doesn’t need to wait too long for an answer.

`Fuck`

`Brb`

Raven Reyes, forever the Whatsapp poet.

She waltzes into his room ten minutes later, informing him loudly that it’s his turn to make pancakes, and he is beyond grateful that she came up with an excuse, because him going into her bedroom would’ve been suspicious as fuck. Raven doesn’t like letting people in there, and he’s only been twice, both times naked. 

But her in his room is more than plausible, and as she rambles about pancakes, she gracefully leans over the bed, picks up her toy, and slips it into her pocket in what seems to be one smooth motion, nothing to see here, crisis averted. They absolutely did not spend two hours last night trying to find ways to make her cramps feel better. No sir. Nothing to see.

And if Bellamy feels _something_ as he lets out an exaggerated sigh, then heads to the kitchen to mix some pancake batter, it’s neither here, nor there.

***

It’s not like he can blame anyone but himself. Raven made things abundantly clear two months ago.

“I’m not really ready,” she said, looking at him like she was issuing a challenge. “I mean, I’m sure someone filled you in on the drama, but also… I’ve got a Master’s to finish, it’s a lot of work, and I can’t… But I want to be honest with you. You seem like a decent guy, and I like you. If you want to have sex, I’m game, but…”

“But nothing more?” he interrupted gently, when she seemed to hesitate with a word. She nodded.

“I mean it. Not in some weird ‘win my ice queen heart’ kinda way. You know?”

“Got you loud and clear.”

And at the time, he absolutely and honestly meant it. He still means it, to a point. Absolutely understands that she is neither ready not interested. But things are also, unfortunately, becoming complicated. 

It turns out that Bellamy is perfectly capable of having a very beautiful fuckbuddy, but keep his feelings in check. He can also have an attractive friend, and spend time with them like a person, without wanting to date them just because they get along. But, as he has been learning rapidly over the last two months, doing both of those things with the same person at the same time might be a bit too much for him.

Raven is wickedly sexy and painfully charming, yes, but she also barges into his room on weekends to demand pancakes, lures him into movie marathons in pajamas, and helps him clear out the fridge when things start to smell funny. She has a favorite plant in their living room. She texts him pictures of cats doing stupid things. She calls him when she sees a book in a store that he could potentially want to read. 

In short: she rolls out of his bed straight into comfortable domesticity, and domesticity is pure catnip for one Bellamy Blake. He knew this about himself, and stupidly thought that it wouldn’t be an issue in his newest fuckbuddy slash flatmate arrangement, so here he is now. Just last week, Raven remembered that he can’t eat onions when it was her turn to cook dinner for everyone, then threw an eggplant at Miller when he tried to complain about it, and Bellamy got so hard he had to breathe deeply and think about Cato the Elder, which wasn’t only distressing but also confusing, because who the fuck gets turned on by dietary requirements? The situation is dire.

But at least the most recent crisis is averted for now, and he no longer has rogue sex toys in his room. Surely this means he is making progress.

***

It takes less than a day for Bellamy to realize that he’s made absolutely no progress.

It’s his turn to cook Sunday dinner, and he is fully on it, using up all the random bits of meat and vegetables they have in the fridge while Monty, Miller, Gina and Luna are out getting groceries. He is just pondering which spices to use to get optimal results out of the can of chickpeas he decided to throw in when Raven comes into the kitchen, all messy ponytail and soft, slouchy clothes, and she is so beautiful he forgets how to breathe for a moment. 

“Are you okay?” she asks, because he probably makes an utterly stupid face, and he nods, but it only earns him a laugh. 

He really should have expected that she’d come up and kiss him. She sometimes does, when they’re home alone, or even when they’re not and she wants to risk sneaking around, but it’s still a shock to the system, and he finds himself pulling her in close, food forgotten, so he can stroke the nape of her neck as he deepens the kiss greedily.

“You still have some tension left after yesterday?” she asks him quietly, and he hesitates for a moment before nodding, then realizes – this isn’t fair. Last night was fun, and sweet, and he was able to just enjoy being with her, but today feelings are rearing their ugly head, and it’s not the first time it happens, but it _is_ the first time she kisses him during one of those days. He can’t blame the mess he has in his head on being horny.

“Not that kind of tension,” he clarifies, feeling just a little bit foolish. Raven frowns.

“Are you freaked out because of the Miller vs vibrator thing?”

“No, just… A lot on my mind. You know?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

He chickens out just shy of telling her that maybe they should stop doing this, because he is catching feelings, but then there is a ruckus in the hallway, and Raven jumps away to frantically put on a kettle before Monty sticks his head in and announces that they bought kale because it was on offer, which earns him a very pained groan from Raven, and a truly evil laugh from Luna, and Bellamy loves his flatmates, he really does, but in this moment, he could plausibly murder every single one of them.

***

Trouble is, Bellamy can’t even talk to Miller about this, which is what he always did whenever he had a heart problem, ever since they were both fourteen. But talking to Miller would mean admitting that he has consistently been breaking The Rule, and Bellamy isn’t entirely sure what the punishment for that is, but he doesn’t want to find out. Also, it would be shitty to do that to Raven.

So instead, he stews like an idiot, until Gina starts telling him he’s unbearable, and Monty offers him an apparently home-grown joint to chill him out, which Bellamy has a lot of questions about, but chooses not to ask any of them. It goes on for days, until Raven comes to his rescue.

“We’re doing a movie night,” she announces as she comes into his room, a bowl of freshly made popcorn in hand. “My place.”

A part of him is tempted to refuse, because he wants to say yes a little too much, but Raven doesn’t usually get this bold unless she is feeling shy, so he just nods, and picks up his blanket to follow her to her room.

They end up sitting on the bed, Raven cuddled up to Bellamy’s side, and they’ve both seen The Old Guard before, but then, this wouldn’t be so comforting if they hadn’t.

“I’m going to fall in love with you,” he blurts out around halfway through the movie, when they’re settled and so close that he can smell the conditioner on her freshly washed hair. “It’s okay with you don’t. And I’m okay to carry on, with everything. I just… I thought you should know.”

Raven sits up, eyes wide open, and points at the screen.

“You honestly expect me to keep watching a movie, after what you just said that?”

“Yup.” Never let it be said _he_ doesn’t have bravado when he’s scared shitless. “I mean… Do you know what to say to me?”

“No, but…”

“Then come back. I liked your head on my shoulder. And hush, Andy is about to do the thing.”

“You watch too many movies if you think you can just say all that, and carry on as if nothing happened,” she mutters mutinously, which would be more effective if her face wasn’t hiding against the crook of his neck. “We’re gonna have to have a talk.”

“But not today?”

She stays quiet for a moment, until Bellamy can feel her relax a bit under his fingers.

“Okay. Not today.”

***

Predictably, Raven stops initiating sex after that confession, but at least he stops feeling like he’s doing something wrong, so there’s that. The surprising part is that she starts spending more time with him in general, and it seems like nothing, but then one day Miller finds Raven’s sweatshirt hung over a chair in Bellamy’s bedroom, and it feels more incriminating than that fucking vibrator would have.

“You guys are close,” he comments idly, and while Miller is kind of a good actor on stage, he has absolutely no poker face when he is being smug.

“It’s not what you think,” Bellamy hears himself say, like he is some cheating husband in a bad telenovela, so it’s absolutely fair that Miller laughs at him.

“I won’t tell if you don’t,” he says with a knowing smile, and pats Bellamy’s shoulder patronizingly before heading out.

“If I don’t tell… what exactly?”

Miller shrugs.

“You’ll find out.”

***

What Bellamy does find out right the next day: walking into the living room just as Luna is eating Gina out on the couch makes him make a really fucking stupid face.

“I thought there was a Rule,” he blurts out, not knowing where to look to not see something that he shouldn’t, and it does not help that Raven, Monty and Miller are right behind him, since they all went to the movies together, then came back early because the movie in question was abysmal.

“Good point!” pipes up Monty, before turning towards Raven. “How much was it? A tenner?”

“It was pizza for all, don’t you dare sell me short,” says Raven sternly, then points at Luna. “Get dressed, and pay up. Dinner is on you.”

“I’m dressed!” protests Luna, and it definitely makes Gina move very quickly, but Bellamy doesn’t notice much, because he is _not looking_.

“You two can go halves,” rules Miller casually. “Holy shit, that lasted long. I’m impressed no one fucked up sooner.”

“Can anyone explain what the fuck is going on?” asks Bellamy desperately. It’s starting to feel like he is losing his mind here. “Isn’t there a Rule? You know…”

“That’s what we’re talking about,” explains Raven like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “No fucking your flatmates. And if you get caught, it’s pizza night on you. Can we order from that nice Italian round the corner? I’ve been craving their garlic bread.”

“ _That’s_ The Rule?”

“What, did you think we evict the sinners, or something?” asks Luna, eyebrows raised. “Please. Like that would fly. And wipe that smug grin off your face, Monty. You think I don’t know Nate blows you on this very couch?”

“You can prove nothing. I’ll have some garlic bread too. Please.”

***

`Are all our flatmates fucking each other?`

Not the most subtle text Bellamy ever sent, but he just dipped into his room for a moment, arguably to change into sweats while Gina places the pizza order, and he doesn’t have time for mincing words. To Raven’s credit, she responds immediately.

`You didn’t know?  
Wait  
Have you been all stressed to try to protect my honor and stuff?  
Sweetheart`

If she puts it like this, he does feel massively stupid. 

`It’s okay,` he texts back, grateful that she can’t see that he’s blushing. `I’m also still in love with you.`

`Ah  
Thats okay then`

***

They have to sneak out and pretend that they’re working late when they go on a first date together six months later, and maybe that’s a good thing, because the date is a complete disaster, from disappointing and overpriced food to Bellamy feeling suddenly so uncomfortable in a button down and a tie. They give up halfway through, and come back home under cover, one by one, to change and just go out for a walk, so Raven can rant about how bad the food was, because she picked the restaurant and she takes food betrayal very seriously.

“To be fair, you also didn’t really want to go on a date,” Bellamy points out, and to Raven’s credit, she only looks like a deer in headlights for four seconds at most.

“I don’t think I did,” she admits. “I’m sorry.”

He nudges her shoulder with his.

“Hey, don’t. It’s okay. I didn’t like it either.”

“No?” She takes a deep breath. “That’s okay then. But you still want to…”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

Which is quite rushed, as far as endings go, but they don’t really have a choice. Their landlord is selling their house in two months, and as it turns out, finding a six-bed on the fly is hard. Still, no one was more surprised than Bellamy when Raven came to his room a few days ago, her phone in hand, and showed him a listing for a gorgeous five-bed that was miraculously within their budget. Before he could point out the obvious problem of not enough bedrooms, she asked, in a very un-Raven, small voice, if he’d just share with her. Because it would be good, and they could all be together, and also because it would mean something.

“You don’t have to,” he assured her, not really sure what else to say. “I could just find something on my own.”

“No,” she said, louder, before letting out a shaky breath. “You shouldn’t… You should stay. I want you to stay.”

They clearly don’t know how to do this, as proved by today’s date, but Bellamy still feels hopeful when he gives Raven a tight hug, then starts heading back home with her, her hands clutching his arm and elbow. They still need to show the listing to other flatmates, since this afternoon they got a confirmation that they secured a viewing, and then they can see how it goes.

“Just for the record,” says Bellamy as he unlocks the door. “If Miller tries to charge me for pizza, I will fucking riot.”


End file.
